Consulting

As a consultant, you would have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, providing technical and/or strategic advice. One can pursue a consulting career with general management consulting firms, with life sciences-specific boutique firms, or with a Government Contractor. Examples of management consulting firms include McKinsey & Company, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Bain & Company. Boutique firms include L.E.K. Consulting and Leerink Swann LLC. Government contractors that employ Ph.D. or M.S. scientists include Booz Allen Hamilton, SAIC, or Tauri Group. Another option would be to start your own business.

Essential skills include: ability to work effectively in a team and communicate clearly with professionals of different backgrounds, analytical and problem solving skills, time management skills; and leadership skills.

• The Hopkins Graduate Student Consulting Club
• Read the relevant section in the NIH Symposium Newsletters from 2013
• Read an article on Science Careers: Mastering Your Ph.D.: A Career in Management Consulting
• Books such as Case in Point or How to Get Into Consulting Firms
• Victor Cheng’s website on case interviews
• PhD to Consulting

• Get involved in activities that demonstrate your leadership and organizational skills (e.g. participate in student committees, organize conferences, etc).
• Participate in Case Competitions (Mini Case Competitions and Biotech Case Competitions organized by The Hopkins Graduate Student Consulting Club as well as other schools). More information can be found at the individual consulting club websites.
• Interview preparation resources, Case Interview Workshops, Business & Consulting Bootcamp conducted by the The Hopkins Graduate Student Consulting Club.
• Pro bono consulting services organized by The Hopkins Graduate Student Consulting Club.
• Business and Management courses by Coursera.
• Interviewing workshops conducted by the Professional Development Office.
• Start case practice at least 4 months in advance of looking for a job, and try to solve at least 100 cases. You must be able to develop hypothesis driven methodology.

• Bridge to BCG
• McKinsey Programs
• Internships at McKinsey & Co
• Internships at Booz Allen Hamilton

• The Hopkins Graduate Student Consulting Club
• Reach out to professionals in this field and request informational interviews to learn more about what their job entails.